Junior sister, I really need to control you

"Please forgive us, esteemed guest," the manager said with a somewhat apologetic smile. "When Wanbaolou discusses matters with esteemed guests, we always light a censer of incense to refresh our minds."

"With the incense to refresh the mind, one's thoughts will be clear and sharp, preventing the distinguished guest from making a regrettable transaction during business negotiations."

"Oh?" Li Yinsheng said with interest, "If the guest doesn't make a foolish decision, won't your establishment just lose some spirit stones?"

"You flatter me, esteemed guest. The benefits of your repeated visits far outweigh any mere one or two bargains," the shopkeeper said with a smile.

Li Yinsheng nodded.

He had no opinion on Wanbaolou's business philosophy, but was more interested in the so-called "refreshing incense".

Although its effect is not as good as that of Bodhi seeds, it is not bad either.

If we could get some of these, their effects would be enhanced when combined with those of the Bodhi seeds, making it even more effective for my junior sister when she's studying the visualization diagrams.

"Oh dear, look at my brain, I haven't even asked the names of our distinguished guest and this young friend yet?" the shopkeeper said.

"My name is Li Yinsheng, and this is my junior sister, Mu Xiaoyu," Li Yinsheng said.

Mu Xiaoyu held up one hand: "Would you like some snacks?"

"Xiao Meng! What's going on? Why did you forget to serve the snacks? Do you even want to keep your job?!" the shopkeeper roared.

The maid in green quickly brought over several plates of exquisite pastries.

Although its color, aroma, and taste were not as good as those from Wuxia Peak, it was still a fine product. Mu Xiaoyu happily picked up a piece.

Without further ado, Li Yinsheng took out a pale blue demon core and placed it on the table: "Shopkeeper, how many spirit stones do you think this can sell for?"

A chilling demonic aura instantly filled the entire private room; if it weren't for the array outside blocking it, the demonic aura would have already rushed out.

"This...this..." The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and his hand, which was stroking his beard, instantly reached for the demon core. As soon as he touched it, he withdrew his fingers like lightning.

"Senior Li, are you really going to sell this?" He pondered for a moment and said, "If I am not mistaken, the owner of this demon core was nearly at the Water Element level in his lifetime?"

Li Yinsheng nodded: "How many spirit stones are you willing to offer, shopkeeper?"

“Such a demon core, which is close to the water element, should be worth between 100,000 and 110,000 yuan stones in the outside world. My Wanbaolou is willing to befriend you, senior. If you want to sell, we are willing to buy it for 120,000 yuan stones.”

The shopkeeper quickly provided an answer.

After a quick mental calculation, Li Yinsheng realized that this price was not much different from the psychological price he had deduced after collecting information over this period of time.

"However, I am not qualified to make such a large sum of spirit stones. I must inform the owner before I can withdraw the funds. I hope you will wait a moment, senior," the shopkeeper said.

Li Yinsheng nodded, not finding it surprising.

In this small world where monster resources are scarce, a demon core that is close to that of a great demon is probably worth more than the demon core of an ordinary great demon in the outside world.

The shopkeeper left in a hurry, and returned a moment later with three elegantly dressed women by his side.

One of the three women was holding a pipa, another was holding a jade flute, and the last one had empty hands, but each arm had a ribbon attached to it.

"Senior, please wait a moment. Someone will bring the spirit stones within three quarters of an hour at most. Xiao Meng, hurry and bring the best Qingyu tea and snacks!"

As the innkeeper gave the order, the maid in green hurriedly left. Two of the three women who entered later played music, while the remaining one danced a graceful and melodious dance.

Li Yinsheng blinked, inwardly marveling at the attentive service; no wonder it was a large store.

Although the dancing woman had no cultivation, she seemed to have been elevated to an extremely high level through elixirs.

Her waist was graceful yet supple, and her long legs, partially hidden beneath her gauze skirt, caused the skirt to swirl and rise. Her eyes shimmered with a gentle light, as if she were sending flirtatious glances to Li Yinsheng.

Since someone was performing for free, Li Yinsheng naturally had no reason not to watch.

However, compared to him, Mu Xiaoyu was the one who was watching intently.

"I wish I had legs that long, a waist like that, and that too..." Mu Xiaoyu held the teacup in both hands, her resolve to cultivate the Earth Fire Tempering Body Technique strengthened.

Anyway, the Earth Fire Tempering Technique isn't very painful to practice, so it's worth enduring for the sake of becoming beautiful.

Less than 15 minutes later, Li Yinsheng looked toward the small door of the private room, and the door was suddenly pushed open.

A woman dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, with a sharp demeanor but beautiful features, strode in.

As she entered, the music and dance stopped abruptly, and the three men bowed to the woman.

"No need for these formalities, please continue, keep playing the music and dancing!" the woman said, waving her hand.

The music and dancing continued, and the shopkeeper hurriedly stepped forward: "Young Master! Young Master, why have you come in person?"

Although he was addressed as "Young Master," the shopkeeper's expression was no longer just one of awe for his status; it was more of a mixture of fear and trepidation, and his reaction was extremely strong.

However, Li Yinsheng didn't find it strange.

The woman in the tight-fitting clothes who came in was already very close to a Great True Person in terms of cultivation, almost on par with that demon core.

What's even more remarkable is that she is also a pure body cultivator.

Although he thought this woman was slightly older than Ling'er, she was not as talented as Ling'er.

Even so, he is undoubtedly a genius.

The woman waved for the shopkeeper to stand up and laughed heartily, "I told you there's no need for these formalities. I just wanted to come and see if I could make friends with a fellow Daoist who could produce such a demon core."

As she spoke, she looked at Li Yinsheng.

His gaze then narrowed slightly.

"My name is Li Yinsheng. I have met this fellow Daoist," Li Yinsheng said with a smile.

She blinked, her cheerful expression fading into a quiet and elegant smile.

"This humble woman, Qu Yunshu, greets Fellow Daoist Li."

She moved gracefully to Li Yinsheng's side, placed her hands on her lower abdomen, and sat down elegantly.

Seeing this sudden change, Mu Xiaoyu couldn't help but rub her eyes.

Chapter 185 Saintess Selection

In the private room of Wanbaolou.

Qu Yunshu sat beside Li Yinsheng, holding a cup of fragrant tea in her right hand, and sipped it lightly.

"Fellow Daoist Li looks so young, yet he was able to kill a demon cultivator who was close to the Water Element Realm. I admire him greatly."

Faced with Qu Yunshu's flattery, Li Yinsheng shook his head slightly.

"In my opinion, Fellow Daoist Qu's cultivation is not much different from that of True Person Shuiyuan, and moreover, he is a body cultivator. It is not difficult for him to accomplish this task."

Qu Yunshu's body stiffened.

Is it really that obvious that I'm a body cultivator?

Or is it that this Fellow Daoist Li's cultivation level is higher than she expected, which is why he has such keen insight?

Since he had encountered a cultivator who seemed to be of considerable status and whose attitude was quite friendly, Li Yinsheng naturally struck up a conversation with her.

The more he learned about the situation here, the easier it would be for him to sort out the clues of this tribulation of cultivation.

But before they had talked for long, a thought struck him, and he suddenly turned to look at the window.

The window of the private room faces the central area of ​​Shengyuan City.

Although it's not tall enough and other buildings block the view of the central area from the windows, there's no need to look at the ground anymore.

Li Yinsheng looked up.

Above the central area, surrounded by dozens of towering pillars, a magnificent golden palace emerges.

Unlike the Zhengyang Palace, which has thirty-three stories, this palace is only nine stories high, but it has eight side halls guarding the main hall, making it look more magnificent than the Zhengyang Palace.

As the palace appeared, a voice that enveloped the entire city of Shengyuan resounded.

"The Three Elements Saintess Assembly will begin on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month next year. All female cultivators under the age of twenty, female True Person cultivators under the age of forty, and female True Person cultivators of the Water Element under the age of one hundred can participate in the selection of Saintess."

Leaving behind these words, the palace in the sky once again vanished into the void.

The Three Saintess Assembly? Saintess Selection? What does this mean? How come I've never heard of it these past few days?

Li Yinsheng looked at Qu Yunshu, about to ask her something, when he noticed that the woman, who had been quietly sipping tea with beautiful features, was now full of excitement, even flushed with excitement.

"Damn! I made it! The Holy Maiden Assembly, which only happens once every thousand years, and I actually made it!"

She jumped up from the chair and looked at the shopkeeper with almost excited gestures.

"Old Xu, hurry up and tell my father to cancel that lousy marriage. I want to participate in the Holy Maiden selection. Holy Maidens can't marry! Besides, I didn't want to get married in the first place!"

After saying this, she seemed to suddenly realize something and looked sharply at Li Yinsheng.

Li Yinsheng winked at her.

Qu Yunshu's face stiffened for a moment, then returned to normal.

To be precise, she regained her elegant demeanor as a well-bred lady and sat back down in her chair.

"Fellow Daoist Li, please forgive me. The opening of the Holy Maiden Gathering at this time is truly an opportunity that has come from heaven. I am inevitably a little flustered and may have made a fool of myself. Please forgive me for my lapse in composure."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and whispered with her head down.

“Fellow Daoist Qu, there’s no need to worry. It’s a grand event that only happens once every thousand years. It’s normal to lose your composure. I’m sure this Holy Maiden will be a tremendous opportunity for you, Fellow Daoist Qu,” Li Yinsheng said with a smile.

“This is an incredible opportunity for any female cultivator who meets the criteria,” Qu Yunshu exclaimed. “Even if she is chosen as the lowest-ranking Water Element Saintess, she can extend her lifespan by five hundred years.”

Upon hearing this, Li Yinsheng couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

A lifespan of five hundred years?

What kind of miraculous elixir is this? Who sells longevity pills wholesale?

At most, the lifespan I can extend by sixty years using the Spirit of Withering and Flourishing can only be increased by one.

"If one could become the legendary Heavenly Origin Saintess, not only would one's lifespan be extended by thousands of years, but one's cultivation level would also be directly raised by a major realm."

Li Yinsheng's eyes widened like copper bells.

"Wait a minute, Fellow Daoist Qu, is there a limit to this advancement of one major realm? Can a True Earth Realm cultivator directly advance to a True Heaven Realm cultivator?"

Qu Yunshu was taken aback and looked at Li Yinsheng with a face full of doubt.

"Fellow Daoist Li, what are you saying? The only way for a True Earthly Realm cultivator to be promoted to a True Heavenly Realm cultivator is to become a Holy Maiden of Heavenly Realm or to receive the blessing of a Holy Maiden of Heavenly Realm."

Li Yinsheng was taken aback.

Wait a minute, there's something off about this "Tianyuan Zhenren" of yours?